Amazons Past
by gryps-celsus
Summary: A strange woman comes galloping (literally) into Hogwarts, reviving repressed memories in Severus Snape. But why is she really here? SSOC warning: mention of rape and slash (uncompleted, currently suspended)
1. An Entrance

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of any of these characters except the woman (I'm not telling you who she is before the story reveals it!), her horse, and the plot.  
  
  
  
As if an extension of the wind she kept racing forward, pushing her mount harder and harder. Lucky that the magic-blooded warhorse understood the urgency of the situation or he might have been ruined.  
  
Sweat plastered most of the woman's hair to her neck and face; what wasn't soaked whipped around freely in the beating force of the wind. A long, curved, and elegant sword smacked at her side and a longbow with quiver slapped against her back.  
  
The ground rolled under them, the scenery flying by her eyes without registering in her brain. She could hear the gasps and yells and screams of people as she galloped in and out of the town, up the road, and towards the great castle.  
  
The tall towers rose first over the top of a hill followed by the mass of the building itself. The main gates danced closer faster and faster. "Effractum Ianua" she hissed loudly at the gates and they opened just in time to let the pair pass.  
  
Up another grassy hill and towards the large mahogany doors which gave entrance into the castle. "Effractum Ianua" she yelled again and the doors let her pass.  
  
The hooves of the large, dark warhorse clamoured against the stone floor, creating deafening echoes throughout the lower floors of the castle. She knew the time and she knew where they could be found.  
  
"Effractum Ianua!" she yelled for the last time and burst into the Great Hall of Hogwarts. Screams were emitted from some of the students as she ran down the isle between the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables. The old man stood from his tall seat at the high table.  
  
The woman abruptly stopped the horse just in front of the table. "The village... Locusani..." she gasped, her chest heaving with each syllable.  
  
Before she could continue her body became rigid and she sat upright on her horse. Her eyes clouded over to a solid black and a mist started to rise from her body, slowly forming the head, chest, and enormous wings of a Gryphon.  
  
The tips of the translucent wings spanned the width of the Great Hall. Once the head was fully formed its long ears pricked forward and its eyes glowed an eerie green.  
  
"I am sorry to have to come to you in this way, Albus Dumbledore, but I have no other choice." a voice came from the woman's mouth but it was not her own; the deep rumble was obviously the voice of the spirit hovering above. "Nocens has risen, he has taken the Amazons as his army. I could only save this woman, to use as my messanger. She is their Queen and might be able to break Nocens's spell. You are the only one who can give her that power. Albus, you must take her and give her the strength to triumph, or we all are lost." The spirit slowly wafted away, as if a breeze just took the spirit with it.  
  
The woman's eyes slowly unclouded and she moaned as she tried to focus on the objects surrounding her. Then, with a heaving sigh, she collapsed, sliding off her bareback horse and crashing onto the stone floor. 


	2. Awakening

Disclaimer: The Amazon Queen, her horse, and the plot are all me… everything else is courtesy J.K. Rowling.  
  
  
  
Dark splotches above her slowly came into focus as the glare from the bight light dissipated. An old man, who she somehow recognized was staring at her intently, along with a stiff, yet gentle looking woman with rectangle spectacles.  
  
"Poppy... " one of them said, she couldn't discern whether the voice was male or female. An overtly chipper lady came over and laid her hand across the paitent's forehead, blocking her vision for a moment.  
  
"She just needs rest..." the chipper lady chirped and walked out of her field of vision.  
  
Then she realized that she was laying down. Guerin! She shot upright, only to moan and grab her forehead.  
  
"Do not try to rise yet, Miss. You are far from recovered." the old man said. At least her hearing was getting better.  
  
Wait. Recovered? From what? And where was her horse? And her weapons?!? "Where... what..." was all she managed to get out before slumping back onto the pillow.  
  
"All will be explained once you can fully comprehend it..." the woman spoke this time.  
  
No, explain now... she thought, but couldn't force the words from her throat.  
  
She heard footsteps coming closer, the clicking of men's shoes on the hard floor. "How is she doing?" came a silky voice. That voice! No, not the voice!! The familiar voice which lived in her head, replaying constantly since it was branded there. "I am so sorry..." the voice whispered in her head. "Sorry, sorry..."  
  
A rush of adrenaline created a moment of clarity and she jumped from her bed and stood, prepared for battle. "Do you dare come near me again... I will not let you repeat what you did, I will fight this time... oh I have dreamed of this..." she growled at the tall, pale man with black hair that hung to his shoulders. "I have..." she tried to continue but fell to her knees on the floor.  
  
The tall man immediately bent down to help her up but she wretched her body away from him and even tried to bite his hand.  
  
With help from the old man the other woman carried her to the bed and covered her with a blanket. In seconds she was asleep.  
  
"Severus, I do believe that you have some explaining to do..." Dumbledore said, jesturing to the Amazon woman lying on the infirmary bed.  
  
Professor Snape just looked at Dumbledore, dark eyes empty of even the constant sneer the he usually held. "I..." he couldn't find words.  
  
Dumbledore nodded. "Come, come to my office. Minerva, go to the Common Rooms and try to keep everyone calm. I don't care what story you concoct, just don't allow the students to break into hysterics." For the first time since Severus had known the Headmaster, his superior seemed afraid.  
  
  
  
"Swedish Fish." Dumbledore said in passing to the gargoyle which allowed entry to his office. They treaded up the spiral stairs and into the main room. Fawkes cooed happily and shifted on his perch upon seeing Dumbledore.  
  
Severus slumped into a chair in front of the Headmaster's desk and stared into the even-blazing fire. Dumbledore sat and waited quietly for his Potions Master to begin.  
  
"You know my past... the things I have done..." he winced for a moment. "Only a year after my induction into Voldemort's ranks he called on me to prove my loyalty during a raid upon a village... a village of Amazons. I hadn't set to the task of killing them immediately, as the others had. I just couldn't bring myself to have a hand in the annihilation of an entire ancient and legendary culture." he paused for a moment, pondering something even Dumbledore could not read. "Voldemort was not happy with such actions. He... he took the young Amazon Queen... she must have been only 15 or 16... mind you I was not much older... and he said that I would get the honor of raping and humiliating her in front of the rest of his dark army, right there in the middle of the village..." he gritted his teeth and closed his eyes in pain. In one swift motion he turned to Dumbledore and slammed his fist upon the desktop. "And damn myself, I did it... I took her, right there, in the blood soaked dirt in the center of her village... " he slumped back into the chair, covering his eyes with his hand. "She realized her fate immediately as she was thrown at me, her hands crudely bound. She only protested once, growled as I threw he to the ground in mock domination. Then she only cried, rivers of tears which soaked the ground and packed mud into her hair..." he snorted "I'm rather surprised she didn't kill me when she recognized me... I'd deserve it." he meant to whisper that last part just to himself, but Dumbledore heard it.  
  
"You are far from deserving of that fate, Severus." Dumbledore said, his voice comforting like an old blanket. "But I do need you to talk with her once she recovers. I can't have her aggression towards you interfereing with her duty." the Headmaster sighed.  
  
Severus rose to leave, but turned back to Dumbledore. "Do you really think she will be able to defeat something as abstract as Nocens?" he asked.  
  
"I don't know. But she is our only hope."  
  
Severus nodded and headed out the door.  
  
For the next week the Amazon Queen drifted between sleep and awake, never conscious enough to even eat or drink. The students has settled down, being told that Hogwarts was impenetrable to such forces, and had shuffled back into their regular routine.  
  
But every day, for whatever time he could spare, usually the hour before classes began, Severus sat by the woman's bedside. He never spoke a word, just sat and stared at her, tracing her still features again and again with his eyes. He relived those horrible moments again and again, as if through torturing himself he could repent.  
  
And yet he couldn't deny that he had enjoyed it. He was, after all, only human. But her figure had haunted his dreams for years afterward. He'd fall to his knees, crying at her feet and sobbing his confession. And without a word she'd kneel down next to him and take him in her arms, letting him cry into her shoulder. Her fingers would run through his hair and she'd murmur her acceptance of his apologies until he stopped crying.  
  
Severus stood from his chair at her bedside and looked down at her unmoving face. He suddenly believed all the legends about men dying just to glimpse these warrior-women.  
  
Severus watched his hand as it came to rest on her pale cheek, his thumb tracing the line of her eyebrow. His fingers followed the curve of her jawline and returned to their resting place on her cheek. "I don't even know your name..." he whispered.  
  
In a flash Severus realized what he was doing and pulled his hand away from her as if he had touched fire. He stared at her for a moment and then rushed out of the hospital, robes whipping behind him.  
  
The woman's eyes fluttered open and she stared in horror and confusion at the place where the man had just exited. She had awoken awhile ago and heard the breathing of another in the room with her. Then the click of the heels as the person came closer and she froze, eyes closed, hoping that the person would not realize her increased breathing or heartrate. And then the person touched her, so amazingly intimate, yet gentle and comforting. And then that voice had asked her a question. That man was the one attached to the touch. "Arduine..." she whispered to the door. "My name is Arduine..." 


	3. Opening Doors

Disclaimer: Arduine, Guerin, and the plot are from my brain, all the rest is courtesy of J.K. Rowling.  
  
  
  
Severus was extremely jittery for the day after his one-sided encounter with the unconscious Amazon Queen, at least that was how Dumbledore described him. And of course, as with everything that happened upon school grounds, Dumbledore knew more than anyone suspected.  
  
Severus made his way up to the hospital wing unusually early the next morning, around 6 AM, expecting to bypass Poppy and her barrage of questions. He couldn't even answer why to himself, let alone Madam Pomfrey.  
  
He silently infiltrated the hospital, quietly and quickly making his way to the side room where the woman was, somehow erasing the seemingly ever- present click of his heeled shoes.  
  
He turned the knob of the door slowly, even though he was sure that she was still asleep, and then his confidence was shattered; he stood in the doorway in shock, blood draining from his face.  
  
She was awake! The woman had opened the curtains of the window above her headboard and was watching the sun rise over the red and orange trees of autumn. She was curled up at the top of the bed, her knees at her chest, wearing the bland white pajamas put on her unconscious body by Madam Pomfrey. The rising light cast contrasting shadows on her features and her tawny hair glowed gold where the rays of sun touched it.  
  
Her head shot towards the door as soon as it opened. She was only half- shocked at who she saw there, unlike Severus who could not have been more surprised if she had turned into a basilisk. "Hello, Severus." she said quietly, "...that is your name isn't it? I remember hearing it before I fell asleep for the second time."  
  
He blinked for a moment and gulped. "mmm... Yes. I am Severus." He relaxed slightly as Arduine motioned for him to take a seat.  
  
She uncoiled herself from the top of the bed and faced her visitor. She cocked her head to the side and studied him for a moment. "Arduine." she said definitively.  
  
"What?" he was more confused.  
  
"You said last night that you did not know my name... it is Arduine." She smiled as his eyes widened at the accusation, it was then obvious that she felt the touch. There was a pregnant silence as Severus searched for something to say. She beat him to it. "I am sorry for the way I acted earlier. I shouldn't have lashed out at you like that. I especially should not have refused your help."  
  
For the third time Severus reguarded her with complete surprise, only this time it was tinged with awe. He gulped again. "You shouldn't be sorry at all... what happened..." he spoke weakly. "Let's just say that I deserve it."  
  
"You obviously regret what you did... I know you were forced, I was there..." she looked at him steadily, even though it took much strength to do so.  
  
"That is still no excuse..." he hissed.  
  
She just sighed, not knowing how to fight such an arguement.  
  
"I'm surprised you are even talking to me..." he said quietly, looking out the window.  
  
She smiled. "Well, I wasn't planning on it, let me tell you that... but you convinced me otherwise... last night..." She had reached over and grabbed her pillow and was now hugging it, resting her head on the top. "... no one has ever touched me like that..." she whispered.  
  
"What?" Severus's head shot to face her, he knew the legends.  
  
"Amazon culture is quite different from what you know here. Men are only allowed into out villages for proliferation pruposes. And so, every year since my 18th birthday, I could take the man of my choosing once a year. I tried to just pretend that I had had sex with these men, but they took me... to have the even greater knowledge that theydominated an Amazon Queen." her voice was flat and dark. "There is no emotional attachment to sex in my culture. It is reporduction. And after what happened..." she fumbled here. "...between you and I... I had a great emotional attachment to the action. I've physically and mentally relived that moment between us once a year since I was 18. And you, out of all those men... you were the only one who didn't want to take someone against her will... the only one who was sorry..."  
  
Severus got up and sat down on the edge of the bed next to Arduine. He put his hand to the side of her face again and she closed her eyes and leaned into it, needing the touch like a drug. "They were fools... bloody fools, all of them..." he whispered to her.  
  
She opened her eyes and smiled, taking his hand in both of hers. "Thank you..."  
  
For one of the few times in his life, Severus genuinely smiled. "I should leave before Poppy discovers that I snuck in here."  
  
Arduine nodded and watched him walk towards the door. "You will come back won't you?" she asked just before he opened the door to leave.  
  
He turned on his heel and looked at her. She stared into his dark eyes for the first time and knew his answer before he said it. "Of course..." he whispered. "Goodday, Arduine."  
  
His voice ran over her name like silk on velvet. "Goodday Severus."  
  
He nodded and closed the door behind him.  
  
Arduine looked out the window again to see that the sun had almost completely risen. She smiled to herself, remembering that she still didn't know what had happened to land her in the infirmary in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry... all she recalled was riding there with all speed, knowing that Dumbledore would be able to give her sanctuary after her tribe turned on her.  
  
And to think of it, at the moment, she didn't really care to know, she was happy to dwell in the little she had gained so far. 


	4. Old Friends

Disclaimer: The usual... see last Ch. 3 if you want full details.  
  
It was hours before anyone else entered Arduine's room.  
  
"I am so very glad to see that you are awake Arduine." Dumbledore smiled from the doorway, she hadn't even heard him open her door.  
  
Her face lifted to meet his and she cocked her head to the side. "How do you know my name? Did I tell it to you?"  
  
Dumbldore smiled wider. "No." Arduine looked at him very confused. "One of my teachers here recognized you when you burst into the Great Hall a week ago."  
  
Arduine just looked at the old man with deepened confusion until he stepped to the side and revealed... "Remus!" Arduine shouted and leapt from her bed into the man's arms.  
  
"It is good to see you too... especially conscious." he said, pulling her into a strong embrace.  
  
"I... I can't believe you're teaching here! The reason I came here... to Hogwarts... I remembered your stories and knew that the Headmaster could help me..." she took his hand and lead her friend over to her bed. "Oh.. its been what? three years?"  
  
Remus Lupin smiled. "Almost four. I left to find Sirius just under six years ago."  
  
"Oh! Oh! Sirius!! Did you find him? How is he doing!?! Oh we do need to catch up..." Arduine literally bounced in her seat on her bed.  
  
"First there are other things to attend to... like the circumstances that brought you here..." Arduine's face darkened slightly as the Headmaster sat down in the chair by her bedside. "Do you remember why you left your village for Hogwarts?"  
  
Arduine winced slightly at her memories and, after a pause, began slowly."I remember that my army had turned against me. I don't know why or how, but they did. Instinct told me to seek you, Albus Dumbledore, because of how you had embraced Remus when he was bitten. I remember leaving, but not getting here."  
  
The Headmaster nodded. "Well, you got here. You burst into the Great Hall on horseback and galloped directly down to the high table. You mumbled something about your village before falling into a trance." the Headmaster's face darkened. The smile had been wiped from each person's face. "And then Tysmond, the great Gryphon spirit, rose from you. Warned of the being Nocens, who had taken your army. And how only through working at Hogwarts could you eventually wield the power to break the spell over your people."  
  
"Tysmond? Me?" Arduine stared blankly at the wall in front of her. "Nocens..." her head turned to Dumbledore. "You must be mistaken, I could never have the strength to defeat such a demon."  
  
"Tysmond seems to believe you will..." Remus said from beside her.  
  
She looked over to him, face blank of any definable emotion. "It's too big... I can't do this. Me? Defeat a spirit with the power of a god? Urmm..." she let her head drop, her shoulders sagging. "It can't be true."  
  
Dumbledore stood. "It will take time for you to come to grips with such a burden. I wish I did not have to bring you such heavy words."  
  
Arduine looked up at the old man and nodded. "It is not your fault... I... I just don't know how to cope with this."  
  
The Headmaster nodded and headed towards the door. "I must leave and attend to other duties... Goodday Arduine." He bowed slightly and left.  
  
  
  
Arduine collapsed into Remus's lap with a loud, heaving sigh. "How do I deal with this?"  
  
Remus shrugged and started to run his fingers through Arduine's tawny gold hair as he used to in the village.  
  
She closed her eyes and smiled. "It feels good to have you do that again..." she looked up at him. "I've missed talking to you. How is Sirius?"  
  
"He is well." Remus sighed. "I don't know what I would have done if he had been broken by Azkaban. As it stands now..." he gave a wistful sigh. "I'm so in love."  
  
Arduine giggled from his lap and smiled widely. "That is so wonderful. I am happy for you... I always knew that you two would work out." There was a voice nagging at the back of Arduine's mind, chewing away and creating jealousy of her friend's happiness. "And how are you?"  
  
"Very well. Severus makes a potion for me each month that allows me to pass the four days as a normal wolf and keep my reason. Although, I'm not sure he'd conceed to help me if he wasn't afraid of werewolves."  
  
Arduine's mind and body snapped to full alert at the mention of the other man's name. "Severus? Afraid of werewolves? He does not look like the type, far from it actually, especially after what he has already been through in his lifetime..." her voice drifted off.  
  
Remus looked extremely confused. "Do you know him?"  
  
Arduine shot back to reality and looked up to her friend. "Yes..." she said softly. Remus was the only other person outside of the Death Eaters and Severus, who knew about her rape. "Do you remember what happened when I was sixteen?" she said, even softer.  
  
Remus was glad for his adept hearing. "Yes..." his face became serious.  
  
"The Death Eater that... it was..." tears came again as she remembered the time in vivid detail.  
  
Remus's eyes widened as realization flowed through him. "Severus was the one who raped you?!?"  
  
Arduine just nodded. "I... don't know what to say... I... I'm sorry... you have face that all over again... I'm sorry." he lifted her from his lap and hugged her.  
  
For a split second Arduine thought about mentioning how she longed for Severus's touch to her dearest friend, but then thought better of it.  
  
Remus glanced at the bedside clock from over Arduine's shoulder. "Oh!" he jumped up. "I am supposed to be having lunch with Sirius down in our quarters..." he considered Arduine for a moment. "Would you like to join us? You must meet Sirius."  
  
"No, thank you. I'd like to catch up on some sleep. I will be glad to meet Sirius sometime soon, though." she smiled.  
  
"Okay, sounds good to me." Remus made his way towards the door. "It really is wonderful to see you again, Arduine. I missed you, too."  
  
She smiled and they locked their eyes for a moment. "Aren't you supposed to be eating with Sirius?" she smiled wider at him and raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I'm going! See you soon!!" Remus laughed as he closed the door behind him.  
  
Arduine smiled to herself, this pilgrimage to Hogwarts was turning into a reunion with her past. From Severus to Remus, she wouldn't be surprised if her old Nanny walked into her room right now. 


	5. Confrontations and Revelations

Disclaimer: See previous Ch.s  
  
  
  
Severus was sitting alone in the staff room, enjoying a rare moment of lonely peace on a Saturday. As per usual, the moment was cut short by the interruption of another person. He sipped his tea and turned towards the door to see Remus Lupin staring at him. "Yes?" he hissed, annoyed that he couldn't even enjoy a full minute of peace without locking himself in a room.  
  
Remus didn't answer but strode quickly across the room and sat in a large chair opposite Severus.  
  
"Do have a purpose or are you just here to breach the peace?" Severus hissed again.  
  
Remus cocked his head to the side. The mannerism was rather reminiscent of Arduine, Severus noticed. "We have more in common than you'd like to think." Lupin said.  
  
"Really? Do enlighten me..." Severus wasn't sure where Remus was going, but he was going to be on full alert the whole way there.  
  
And then Remus pulled out a surprise ace. "Arduine." he said simply.  
  
Some blood drained from Severus's face, but he generally kept his composure. "What abour our resident Amazon Queen?" he even managed to keep the regular amount of acid in his voice, even though his mind was reeling with possibilities of how the man across from him would know of that past.  
  
"I'm just making sure that you are not going to make what is already a horrible time for her here even worse by making her relive what you put her through. I care about her." Remus's face was dark. Severus couldn't remember if he had ever seen the man so intent on one purpose.  
  
Severus's eyes narrowed. "I do not intend to repeat history." he hissed, ready to strike if Remus doubted him. He tried to ignore the little whisper in his mind that told him that he cared about her too.  
  
"Good. She does not need any more obstaces in her journey to defeat Nocens."  
  
"Dumbledore has already given me this lecture." Severus rose. "I do not need it repeated to me as were I a child." he spat out at the other man. Severus left the room in a flurry of angry robes.  
  
He marched down the hallways, any students in his path invariably jumped away to let him pass. How did Remus Lupin know of what happened? And how did he know Arduine? And what makes him think that history would repeat itself? Severus fumed with anger and confusion. He wasn't even sure where he was going until he looked up and saw the door to the infirmary in front of him.  
  
He opened the door and flew past Madam Pomfrey, ignoring her protests. He opened the door to Arduine's room and slammed it behind him. "How in the world do you know Remus Lupin? And why does he know about what..." Severus's rage subsided as he searched for words. He slumped down into the chair.  
  
Arduine had jumped at the abrupt intrusion upon her space, but settled herself for an important explination. "He is my friend. I thought it important to tell him. He had already known about... the rape."  
  
Severus just looked confused and drained.  
  
"He wandered into our village not long after he left Hogwarts. After the rest of the Marauders were locked away or dead he took to the forests. He journeyed deep into unkown forests to make sure that he didn't harm humans at the full moon. And then he came upon Locusani." Arduine swung her legs out from under the sheets and let them dangle towards the floor. "We helped him and, to everyone's surprise, could restrain him with our magic and our strength during the full moon. He left four years ago to find Sirius after his break out from Azkaban."  
  
Severus had put a hand to his head and was rubbing one of his temples. "Too many surprises..." he mumbled to himself.  
  
"I told Remus because we are great friends. He is the only other person who knows about what happened. And he will never tell anyone, he knows how much I trust him." She hopped down off the bed and padded over the cold floor to Severus's side. She crouched down and looked up at him. "I'm sorry if what I did troubles you."  
  
He looked down at her. "It is fine. I was just taken by surprise when Remus approached me. It was the last thing I expected him to pull on me."  
  
Arduine closed her eyes for a moment. Severus's hand was just beneath her face, resting idly on the arm of the chair. She could smell his skin. Familiar, yet new, it reminded her of the ancient redwood and cypress around her village. Then it hit her like a brick wall, arousal.  
  
She had been crouched there for a long time, by Severus's standards. Once she closed her eyes he couldn't help but just watch her, wondering what she was thinking. His eyes wandered over her features, how peaceful and calm she looked, whatever she was thinking. He remembered her lying in her bed, what he thought was unconscious, and how beautiful she had looked. Awake, she was even more alluring.  
  
Then her face had shot up and her eyes locked with his. She gracefully stood and walked back to the bed, taking her usual seat. Severus was at a loss to what had broken the moment.  
  
Arduine walked back inside herself as she sat on the bed. She looked up to Severus, sitting in his chair, and felt her own desire within her. It was not supposed to work this way. This is not normal. And this cannot happen. "Sometimes I think the Fates play games with me..." she smiled weakly.  
  
Severus just barely heard her. "They are three interesting personalities, with a bizzare sense of humour." He wasn't quite sure as to why she had stated such, but he knew better than to pry. "I must go. I have to get to Hogsmeade before dinner. I will see you later." The last words came out as a question rather than the statement he had intended.  
  
"Yes. Good bye, Severus." She nodded to him and half-smiled, still caught up in her own thoughts.  
  
He bowed slightly as a return, but she was off somewhere else, distant. Without another word he left the room. 


	6. Two to Tango (oh, its so cliche...)

Disclaimer: see other Ch.s, I'm too lazy to write it out again... hehe  
  
  
  
"OK! Time for dinner!!" Remus burst into Arduine's room merrily. She noticed that he was carrying her clothes in his arms.  
  
"Do explain..." she smiled at him from her bed.  
  
He plopped the clothes down next to her. "Well, although I do think those white hospital pajamas rather fetching, I thought you'd like your regular garb to wear for dinner tonight. As everyone is in the Great Hall for dinner I figured that I'd drag you up to the Staff Room for a meal with me and Sirius."  
  
"You're going to drag me up there?" she smiled, taking her white linen shirt from the pile and changing into it, showing no reservations about Remus standing there.  
  
"Well, dragging really is a last resort." he laughed. "I thought that some good old fashioned persuasion would do first."  
  
Arduine smiled as she hopped into her brown leather pants. "So what do you have up your sleeve?"  
  
"Well, I thought that, along with dinner, some dancing might be in order." Remus laughed as Arduine's head shot up. "I found this wizard's music box that'll play anything you ask it to. Quite a great contraption, really."  
  
"Dancing?" Arduine smiled at the idea of dancing with Remus again. "Ok, you've convinced me." Her foot thudded into her second boot and they were off.  
  
"And just where do you think you're off to?" Madam Pomfrey said, blocking the exit.  
  
"Arduine needs to get out of here for an evening. I've had the house elves set up a dinner in the Staff Room. No one will be in there because they're all in the Great Hall. It'll be good for her." Remus smiled.  
  
"I don't think so, Mister Lupin." she huffed.  
  
"Oh, please, I'm going to go crazy if I'm stuck in here much longer. I'm used to living in the forest, this is torture." Arduine whined.  
  
Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes. "Just this once. And you must come right back."  
  
"Alright." the pair said in unison and headed out of the infirmary.  
  
  
  
"That was a fabulous meal... but I am still waiting for the dancing..." Arduine smiled from her chair, sipping red wine from a silver goblet.  
  
"Dancing?!?" Sirius barked, completely taken by surprise. "I don't do dancing..."  
  
"Oh come now, Sirius. Don't be such a flobberworm." Remus laughed as he stood and opened the music box.  
  
Arduine jumped up. "Swing!" she yelled at the music box and the drums and trumpets started blaring.  
  
Remus laughed again and took Arduine into his arms, dancing with her as if she weighed nothing. It was not long before Arduine ran over to Sirius and pulled him from his chair. "You're dancing whether you like it or not." Sirius just laughed and complied.  
  
Severus had been standing in the doorway for only a few moments. The loud music had prevented the three from noticing the opening of the Staff Room door. He was watching Arduine twirling from one man to another, completely entranced by her movements.  
  
"Samba!" Remus shouted over the music and the style abruptly changed. Sirius stood on the sidelines as his lover danced with Arduine. Remus spun Arduine out along his arm, but instead of returning, she leapt over to Sirius and pulled him onto the floor.  
  
Then, with a sudden jolt, she stopped dancing. Her grey-blue eyes met a pair of velvet black ones. Neither moved, transfixed by the recognition of the other's presence. She felt a flush creep up her neck; she had never expected Severus to witness her act so openly, she let her soul fly when she danced.  
  
"Severus..." Remus protested from somewhere in the background.  
  
"Remus, dinner was fabulous. Sirius, it was wonderful to finally meet you. Please leave now." she said, not taking her eyes away from Severus's.  
  
The two men said nothing, but complied quietly, shuffling past Severus and walking out of sight. Remus not-so-unintentionally hit Severus's shoulder with his own. The music box, as if sensing tension, stopping playing.  
  
"Do you dance?" Arduine broke the silence. She didn't wait for an answer as she quietly approached him. He watched, unmoving as she unclasped his robes and threw the over-garment to the side. Underneath he was wearing a simple white dress shirt and black pants.  
  
Severus took her hand and walked over to the center of the cleared room. "Would you like to try something... a bit more... robust?" A/N: Yes, I know, I'm quoting 'The Mask of Zorro' Arduine just smiled. His eyes left hers for the first time as he looked to the music box. "Tango." he said, and a quartet of strings broke into a wonderfully old Spanish dance, far from any modern style.  
  
Arduine closed her eyes for a moment, taking in the rich music. When she opened them again, Arduine realized that she was already dancing with Severus.  
  
Their bodies were close, the smell of him intoxicating, his touch only making her want him to hold her closer.  
  
They covered the whole floor, their movements countering one another and the whole situation becoming more and more seductive.  
  
Arduine couldn't remove herself from the black fire that were his eyes. The entire universe was the music and Severus.  
  
Severus had long ago stopped paying attention to the exact movements of the dance. The music just flowed through the both of them now. He dipped her, her head rolling back to reveal her tempting neck. As she came up her body pressed even closer to his.  
  
Arduine didn't attempt to move away at this point, she wouldn't have been able to tell herself to do so. That voice that had defined right and wrong, normal and abnormal, to her before had long since been locked away.  
  
When she came back up from the dip, Arduine's face came tantalizingly close to Severus's. All movement stopped, the music faded away. Both were breathing heavily from the exertion and the breath tickled Arduine's cheek.  
  
Severus's mind was reeling, the emotional and the rational battling hard. Then something screamed in him... he cannot let the past dictate his future.  
  
Arduine felt shockwaves as Severus's lips pressed to hers. Her arms wrapped around his neck, fingers tangling in his long hair. She felt his tongue and opened her mouth willingly. From there the kiss increased in passion exponentially, edging on violent when both had to part for air.  
  
Severus moved one hand along her side, causing Arduine to burst into giggles. "No fair tickling..." she panted, not leaving his embrace.  
  
"Life isn't fair..." he smiled and repeated the action on both sides of her torso.  
  
Arudine leapt away, laughing madly. "No no nonooonono..." she yelled as she ran away from Severus, running circles around the Staff Room.  
  
Then in one deft battle tactic, Arduine spun around, and using the element of surprise, knocked Severus onto the couch.  
  
She leapt upon her prey and ended up straddling his hips and tickling him madly. His baritone laugh rolled through her. As he wriggled and arched his back underneath her their hips pressed together, giving both incentive to continue the game.  
  
Severus finally grabbed both of her wrists and held them above his head, pulling her face downward in the process.  
  
Arduine smiled and ground her hips against his. Severus smiled broadly. "It's going to take more than that to get me to let go..." he purred playfully. He couldn't remember the last time he acted like this, it was an amazing release.  
  
"How much more..." a male voice said from the doorway. Arduine and Severus turned to see Remus watching them with his arms folded across his chest, smiling. "I came back here because I wanted to see if I could steal the remnants of the bottle of red wine. I see you two haven't touched it."  
  
Arduine blushed furiously while Severus became paler.  
  
"Don't worry." Remus smiled at them. "Although this was far from what I expected to occur between the two of you, whatever makes Arduine happy is fine by me." Arduine sighed with relief. Just as Remus was turning to leave he swung back around. "Oh, and if I were you two I'd pick a better place to do such. They can hear you in the Great Hall." Remus smiled one more time and left the room, closing the door behind him.  
  
Arduine looked at Severus and burst into laughter. "Whats so funny?" he inquired, a small smile on his face.  
  
"Everything..." she giggled. "Well, a bit more ironic than funny..." Her giggling subsided and she let her body collapse onto Severus's. "I should probably be getting back to the infirmary. The longer I'm here the less Madam Pomfrey is likely to believe that I came back right after dinner."  
  
Arduine sat up and then got off of Severus. He stood and lazily wrapped his arms around her waist. "Come and see me tomorrow morning." It came out more like a question than Arduine had intended.  
  
"Of course." Severus smiled and kissed her lips lightly. "Now get back to bed before Poppy gets angry. You don't want to get her angry." He smiled and gave her a shove forward.  
  
"I've battled giants, dragons, and basilisk... I think I can take an irate Medi-witch." Arduine smiled over her shoulder and left the room.  
  
Severus slumped back down onto the couch. Well this was the last thing he expected to happen tonight. He looked over to the table and saw a notebook stuffed with various parchment. He walked over and picked it up, handling the familiar book. And to think that he came into the Staff Room to find his gradebook... 


End file.
